The Wizards of Gore came back - 100%

Impetigo formed back in 1987 and through a series of demos, EPs and just two full length albums built up the very definition of a cult following in the metal underground. The bands DIY aesthetic was always its biggest charm and I’ve been a diehard fan for a while now. Live Total Zombie Gore Holocaust documents the bands reformation gig for one night only at the Central Illinois Metalfest, 2007 on the 20th anniversary of the bands first ever live show.

The live album basically collects just about every fan favourite and forgotten classic the band has ever written and comes at the listener in a completely unedited format. The sixty seven minutes on offer here is basically the entire show including the intros, Stevo complaining to the venue organizers about technical difficulties and generally chatting with the crowd and is pretty much what you’d expect an Impetigo live album to be like.

Listing highlights off the album is a bit redundant because this is Impetigo. For those of you who have never heard the band it’s a clear case of spirit and enthusiasm over actual talent. The songs are basic punk fuelled death metal anthems that are propelled along by a strong central riff and the occasional punk/ grindcore section. The playing is inconsistent and not all the members of the band are always on the same page here. At the same time for the fans, this is just one long list of classics. Maggots, Dis-Organized, Revenge of the Scabby Man, I Work for the Street Cleaner, Staph Terrorist, Bloody Pit of Horror, Mortado and Dear Uncle Creepy are all present and accounted for and Kam Lee steps up as guest on the pulverizing Boneyard. Each song has a long intro from Stevo and occasionally it’s longer than the actual song but it all works in giving the listener the feeling that he was actually present for the show. This is especially highlighted when the entire crowd shouts out the intro to I Work for the Streetcleaner. A definite goose bumps moment.

I normally try to be as objective as possible in my reviews but I can’t be objective here. When I saw there was a new Impetigo album my immediate emotion was pure unadulterated joy. When I heard it, that emotion didn’t go away. Live Total Zombie Gore Holocaust is absolutely essential for fans of the band and the rest of you don’t really matter.